Brenda Joy Locke (born 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician who currently serves as the mayor of

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

. She was elected to the post in 2022 after defeating the incumbent Doug McCallum. She previously served on the

Surrey City Council Surrey City Council is the governing body of the City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The council consists of the mayor and eight elected city councilors representing the city as a whole. Municipal elections also select six school trustees. Mu ...

from 2018 to 2022, and in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

from 2001 to 2005, representing the electoral district of Surrey-Green Timbers as a member of the

British Columbia Liberal Party BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

Background

Born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Locke worked as the office manager for the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Association for Children's Services from 1979 to 1983, then as the executive director of the BC Liquor Licensee and Retailers Association from 1985 to 2001. Married since 1975, she and her husband John have two children together, and have been residents of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

since 1980.

Political career

In the 2001 provincial election, Locke ran for the

in Surrey-Green Timbers, and defeated

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

incumbent

Sue Hammell Sue Hammell (born June 18, 1945) is a Canadian politician who was the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Green Timbers in the province of British Columbia from 1991 to 2001, and from 2005 to 2017. A member of the British Columbia New ...

to become the riding's

member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

. She served as chair of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, and member of the Legislative Standing Committee on Education, the Multicultural Committee, Women's Caucus Committee and the Government Caucus Committee on Health. On September 20, 2004, she was appointed to the cabinet by Premier Gordon Campbell to serve as Minister of State for Mental Health and Addiction Services. Locke faced Hammell again in the 2005 provincial election; this time Hammell defeated Locke to reclaim the seat. Locke subsequently ran as the federal

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate in

Fleetwood—Port Kells Fleetwood—Port Kells is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Geogr ...

in the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2008 federal elections, but lost both times to

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

incumbent Nina Grewal. In the 2014 municipal election, Locke teamed up with real-estate agent Stephen Gammer under the political party, TeamSurrey, to run for

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

. She came in 18th place, with 2.28% of the vote. In the 2017 provincial election, she ran for the BC Liberal party in her former seat of Surrey-Green Timbers but was defeated by Rachna Singh. While she was out of office, Locke worked as executive director for the B.C. Massage Therapist Association. At the October 20, 2018 municipal election, Locke was elected to

as a part of the

Safe Surrey Coalition The Safe Surrey Coalition is a civic political party in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Members * Doug McCallum – ''Former mayor of Surrey'' * Doug Elford * Mandeep Nagra Former members * Bableen Rana * Allison Patton * Laurie Guerr ...

(SSC). While she initially approved of mayor Doug McCallum's plan to replace the Surrey RCMP with a municipal police force, in the following months she became critical of McCallum's approach on the matter, culminating in her departure from the SSC on June 27, 2019 to become an independent councillor. In January 2020, along with fellow ex-SSC city councillor Jack Hundial, she founded a new political slate called Surrey Connect. She announced in July 2021 her intention to run for mayor of Surrey under the Surrey Connect banner, and proposed halting the police transition during her campaign. On October 15, 2022, Locke defeated the incumbent McCallum to become mayor. Although city council voted to retain the services of the RCMP, the city was ordered by the provincial government in July 2023 to proceed with the police transition. That October, Locke announced in a statement the city would seek a judicial review on the provincial order. The case was dismissed by the

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

in May 2024, with the

Surrey Police Service The Surrey Police Service (SPS) is a municipal police force in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Regional District, and as of December 2022, the second largest munici ...

scheduled to assume jurisdiction over the city on November 29, 2024.

Electoral record

, - , - ,

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Dev ...

, align="right", 5,592 , align="right", 36.31% , align="right", -13.80% , align="right", $37,237

References

External links

Hon. Brenda Locke
37th Parliament biography. {{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Brenda 1955 births Living people BC United MLAs Candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election Candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Mayors of Surrey, British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Politicians from Vancouver Women mayors of places in British Columbia Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia